I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas on mounting a cooler on their bike to carry ice. I'm toying with ways to mount a small cooler on a rear rack so that I can carry a bag of ice back to my camp. Any smart ideas?
Bud

bud buddah wrote:I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas on mounting a cooler on their bike to carry ice. I'm toying with ways to mount a small cooler on a rear rack so that I can carry a bag of ice back to my camp. Any smart ideas?Bud

I've been experimenting with bungee-ing a milk crate to my rear bike rack and seems to work well for groceries. Panniers are better since the lower they are, the more stable the bike is.

I have a medium-sized soft-sided squishy cooler that came with a long strap. I didn't have any problems fitting in 2 of the ice bags into the cooler, looping the strap over my shoulder and adjusting it so it just sat on top of the bike's handlebars. Because it was sitting on the handlebars, I didn't carry the weight of the ice on me, and I rode slowly but steadily back to camp. It was easy.

You don't need a basket to carry ice. I just sat the ice on the handle bars or seat and then walked next to my bike. Worked just fine and I was at the furthest point I could have possibly been from the ice vendors. Save your money for a few extra beers.

I had a basket on my handlebars that wasn't supported at the bottom. I also had a light mounted to the bottom of the basket. Needless to say, 14 lbs of ice pushed the light into the fender into my tire the whole way back to camp. This year, I have no fender, supports for the basket, and saddlebags to carry the ice.

mudpuppy000 wrote:I've been experimenting with bungee-ing a milk crate to my rear bike rack and seems to work well for groceries. Panniers are better since the lower they are, the more stable the bike is.

Similarly, I have a plastic "file box" (read milkbox) that I zip-tied (6) to my handlebars, it has assorted circles of varying size one of which the bracket/nut of the handlebar fits perfectly snug in, very sturdy, I had to wrestle it off after cutting the zips. I saw Wally World had them in their flyer this week for $3 per. don't know if they have the "circle" one though.

I'll use it to contain some paraphanalia while traveling and re-zip it on the playa.

I got a set of baskets that sit on either side of my back tire. Then I took some of those hot/cold bags you can buy in grocery stores for frozen stuff and modded them to form my own cooler on my bike by covering one basket inside and out. It even has a top that closes. Then I covered it in pink fur :D[/img]

I got a set of baskets that sit on either side of my back tire. Then I took some of those hot/cold bags you can buy in grocery stores for frozen stuff and modded them to form my own cooler on my bike by covering one basket inside and out. It even has a top that closes. Then I covered it in pink fur :D

Let me guess, you got a set of baskets that sit on either side of your back tyre. Then you took some of those hot/cold bags you can buy in grocery stores for frozen stuff and modded them to form your own cooler on your bike by covering one basket inside and out. It even has a top that closes. Then you covered it in pink fur?

"...but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant..." - Hunter S Thompson